traditional counseling
psychedelic therapy
with melinda halpern, counseling and psychotherapy
in Bend, Oregon
uncover
inner courage
Bravery Unlocked: Reclaim Your Power Within
Melinda pioneers innovative healing journeys by orchestrating transformative healing with a blend of traditional treatment modalities such as EMDR and behavioral therapies, alongside innovative approaches like psilocybin and ketamine assisted therapy and in-office ketamine experiences. Her approach offers a holistic healing experience that transcends conventional boundaries.
Working Together
Melinda is an Oregon Licensed Psychedelic Facilitator which allows her to work with licensed facilities in Oregon with psilocybin, a psychedelic medicine. Psilocybin facilitation is a research-based treatment for various mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addiction, and existential distress in patients with life-threatening illnesses. The therapy aims to provide a deep, transformative experience that can lead to lasting psychological and emotional healing.
Melinda is also a trained ketamine assisted therapist. This allows her to work in her office with sublingual ketamine doses prescribed by a medical provider. Ketamine has shown promise in the treatment of various mental health conditions, including treatment resistant depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), and suicidality. Ketamine may induce altered states of consciousness or experiences of dissociation - experiences which provide patients with new insights into their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
After psilocybin or ketamine sessions, clients continue to work with Melinda to integrate the insights gained and apply them to their daily lives. Integration is a crucial part of the therapeutic process and helps patients make lasting changes in their mental health and well-being.
Psychedelic Therapy
EMDR & Trauma
Melinda's holistic approach to therapy spans a spectrum of traditional and innovative treatment modalities. Trained as a Level 2 EMDR therapist in 2006, she excels in providing best-practice therapy for clients who have endured traumatic experiences. EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a clinically proven therapy that guides individuals through a transformative process of reprocessing distressing memories. By facilitating the integration of these memories, EMDR diminishes their emotional impact, enabling clients to regain peace and fullness in their lives.
During EMDR therapy, clients work with Melinda to identify and target specific traumatic memories or distressing experiences that continue to affect their mental and emotional well-being. The therapy involves a structured and phased approach, including history-taking, treatment planning, and bilateral stimulation through eye movements, sounds, or tactile sensations.
This process helps individuals desensitize from the emotional charge of these memories, allowing them to be reprocessed adaptively.
Individuals, Couples & Athletes
Melinda is a Level 2 trained PACT Couples therapist. PACT (Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy) utilizes an understanding of how the brain is wired to protect, attach and defend the individuals within their relationship.
Attachment theory and how couples manage their energy (to stress or de stress) is used to help couples understand how they bring safety as well as insecurities to their relationship.
GritPerformance (www.gritperformance.com) is a specialty Melinda provides for athletes of all ages and abilities. The combination of past coaching experiences (swimming, rowing and skiing) and her therapeutic skills allow Melinda to speak the language of an athlete while implementing brain based research skills for athletic success.
She defines grit as "the strength of the mind enabling an athlete to endure pain and hardship"; using techniques based in current brain research, mindfulness, activation management and trauma recovery Melinda works with athletes to achieve the results for which they are training.
Melinda began her therapeutic career as a wilderness instructor for Outward Bound programs and as an adventure-based counseling director for an East Coast residential treatment center.
Her time spent in the Bend-LaPine and Sisters school districts developed her strong understanding of the critical relationship between schools, children and parents. She is passionate that children and parents have a successful experience socially and academically in their schools.
She believes strongly that there is no single therapy that works for everyone. Melinda enjoys a wide variety of clientele and issues; it is not unusual for Melinda's clients to be seen for anxiety, OCD, depression, trauma, ADHD, or an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Meet Melinda
